The Glazers also missed the ceremony and have been criticized by a Manchester United fan group.
Following the sad passing of Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton at the age of 86 last month, the football world came together this week to celebrate his life. A funeral was held on 13th November 2023 for the World Cup winner with fans, players, and other important people all congregating in Manchester to pay their respects.
The service was held at the Manchester Cathedral with many familiar names in attendance such as current players like Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, club icons such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney, and Paul Scholes, as well as other notable guests like Prince William and Gareth Southgate.
Erik ten Hag doesn’t attend Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral
It was an emotional and touching send-off for one of the greatest players English football has ever produced. However, there were a few individuals conspicuous by their absence and this seems to have caused a bit of a stir. Indeed, both Erik ten Hag and the Glazers weren’t in attendance.
It was explained before the funeral that Man United’s manager wouldn’t be able to pay his respects in person as he had an “unbreakable and long-standing personal commitment in the Netherlands.” This has not gone down well with some people, withRichard Keys voicing his displeasure on X(formerly Twitter):
“I don’t care what it is that ten Hag claims was ‘an unbreakable commitment’ in Holland – there is no way that he should’ve missed Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral. It’s a disgrace. There would be no Utd without the likes of Sir Bob. RIP. And thank you for what you gave to all of us.”
The football pundit clearly was still unhappy about the excuse the next day as he took to social media once again to express his anger. This timehe shared a clipping from the Daily Mail’s coverageof the service and added:
“Manchester mourned. They came out in their thousands to say ‘thank you and good-bye’. An English football icon can now rest peacefully. Modern day United wouldn’t look the same without his contribution. Just one thing – where was Erik ten Hag? An unforgivable absence.”
Manchester mourned. They came out in their thousands to say ‘thank you and good-bye’. An English football icon can now rest peacefully. Modern day United wouldn’t look the same without his contribution. Just one thing – where was Erik ten Hag? An unforgivable absence. pic.twitter.com/R3vBq1EyCL
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) November 14, 2023
The Glazers absent from Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral
Ten Hag wasn’t the only one to feel the wrath of some upset football supporters after missing the funeral. The Glazers were criticized by the Man United protest fan group The 1958 after the family stayed away from the service because they did not want to cause a distraction or commotion with their presence. In astatement from the group(via the Mirror), they expressed their disappointment that the owners didn’t even make public comment to honour Sir Bobby on the day of his funeral:
“It comes as no real surprise that no one from the Glazer family appears to have bothered paying their respects at the funeral of arguably our greatest ever player. The Glazers have proved time and again they are alienated from the football club and fan base and this is just another shameful example.
“It is our opinion that they simply view Manchester United as a cash cow. They are not fit to be owners of one of the world’s greatest football clubs, steeped in history and tradition, epitomised by the skills of players like Sir Bobby.
“I think we can speak for the majority of the fan base that we are glad they did not cause any unwelcome distractions. They would not have been welcome for a man who embodied all that is good at our club. Honour, integrity and dignity.
“However it is disappointing there has been no public statement from them today or about the sad passing of Lady Cathy.”